2. Axiostat: A Heamostatic Bandage

An Indian innovation “Axiostat” by Axio Biosolutions, Bengaluru is a haemostatic dressing that stops haemorrhage from actively bleeding vessels within minutes of its application on the wound site. The product is the first Indian wound care product to receive US FDA approval. The USP of the product is the incorporation of chitosan which is a saccharine biopolymer obtained from the hard-outer skeleton of shellfish that can stop bleeding under 4 minutes. Users of axiostat are military, ambulance services, hospitals, industries and relief aid where it has reduced fatality owing to traumatic injuries in battlefields, road traffic accidents, and hospitals world over. The product is available in 12 other countries apart from India and promises to save many more lives in the future.

www.thebetterindia.com/132937/

3. A New Blood Pressure App: A Challenge to Traditional Arm Cuff And Electronic Devices

US-based scientists revealed the new BP app technology which is easy to use, efficient and accurate in the Journal Science Translational Medicine. The scientists targeted a different artery, the palmer arch artery at the fingertip as their new target point to take the count. For measuring the blood pressure, users need to turn on the app and press their fingertip against the sensor unit. Now with the finger on their unit, they would just need to hold their phone at heart level and watch their smartphone screen to make sure that they are applying the right amount of finger pressure. Soon the blood pressure will be seen on the screen.

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4. Typbar TCV by Bharat Biotech

India is one of the leading countries facing deaths due to typhoid. Until now the available vaccine for typhoid management could be given to children who were two years old and above but the recently developed vaccine Typbar TCV or typhoid conjugate vaccine is a breakthrough for India as it can be given to children as young as six months old.

The vaccine has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech after successful clinical trials in India as well as Oxford. The conjugate vaccine crosslinks the sugar and the protein, successfully fooling a baby’s body into producing antibodies that will give it almost lifelong immunity. The price for one dose is INR 1500.

www.thebetterindia.com/127810/

5. Sticky Patch For Blood-Free Monitoring Of Blood Sugar Levels

Researchers from the University of Bath, UK have developed an adhesive, non-invasive patch which can monitor glucose levels in diabetics through the skin without piercing it. Instead, the patch draws glucose out from fluid between cells across hair follicles, which are individually accessed via an array of miniature sensors using a small electric current. The glucose is then collected in tiny reservoirs and is measured. The sensors ensure its calibrations – free approach without using a single drop of blood. The study is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The aim is to eventually make the patch convertible into a low-cost, wearable sensor that sends glucose measurements to the wearer’s smartwatch or phone to take necessary action in time.

www.thehindu.com/article 23501858

Bharat Biotech Ltd. has won the award for taking to the market a vaccine for rotavirus disease. The vaccine, Rotavac, is currently licensed in two countries, while the grant of license is under process in 30 other countries. It has also been prequalified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), making it eligible for procurement by UN and other humanitarian organizations for their public health vaccine programmes.

Agappe Diagnostics Ltd. has won the award for commercializing an automated cartridge-based specific protein analyzer. The instrument has become highly popular as it is smaller and cheaper compared to similar machines available from multinational companies.

The President presented the awards to mark the 20th National Technology Day.

He also gave away national awards to five medium and small-scale enterprises for commercializing indigenous technologies. The winners are Synkromax Biotech, ANTS Ceramics, 3B Blackbio Biotech, Envision Scientific and Hind High Vacuum.

Synkromax got the award for marketing a life-saving implant developed by IIT Madras, while ANTS Ceramics got the award for commercializing high-end zirconia ceramic products and carbon sulphur analysis crucibles and 3B National Technology Awards presented Blackbio Biotech for working on a kit for diagnosis and prognosis of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Envision Scientific got the award for commercializing an indigenously developed drug eluting stent for diabetic patients and Hind High Vacuum got for commercializing thin film metallized alumina circuit for space applications.

Three start-ups got award for developing technologies that have commercial potentials – Astrome Technologies at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, for its work on GigaMesh, which is said to be the first point to multi-point millimeter wave wireless communication solution in the world; CyCa Onco Solutions at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, for developing two drug delivery devices for delivery of anticancer drug, Crisplatin; and Xcellence in Bio Innovation and Technologies at BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, for developing a point of care device for testing antibiotic sensitive of pathogens causing urinary tract infections.

Speaking on the occasion, the President noted that the National Technology Day was landmark day for the country as it was on this day two decades ago that the Pokhran nuclear tests took place and demonstrated India’s capacity as a nuclear weapons state as well as a mature and responsible technology power, capable of harnessing sensitive knowledge.

He said technology was a destiny for the country as all national programmes required a force multiplier in the form of technology. But, at the same time, it must also be about equity. “Its (technology’s) fruits must be accessible to all. Finance and resources should be available to all technologists who may wish to turn entrepreneurs – and to migrate from the lab room to the shop floor.” Above all, the President said, gender equity must be integrated with technology production and technology sharing.